Realizing Potential
by The Raider
Summary: Season 7 AU. Dawn really does become a Potential. How will Buffy react when she learns that her sister is one of the people that the First is determined to destroy? What will the road to the final battle with the First hold for the younger Summers sister? CANCELED! GOING TO REWRITE
1. Revelation

**Hello all! **

**I came up with this idea after watching the Season 7 episode, "Potential", and wondered, what would have happened it Dawn really _had_ been a potential? How would her already un-normal life change as she found her life again put at risk by the forces of evil? Well, my imagination took hold, and I started writing. This is the result of that writing :P**

**I hope you all enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. I own nothing **

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_Dear Diary,_

_Had to listen to Buffy give me _another_ lecture about how I shouldn't help Willow and Tara with researching. I'm fourteen for crying out loud! I'm not some baby that needs to be taken care of twenty-four seven. If anyone, I think she needs to be watched more than I do, considering all the bruises and blood I've seen on her when she comes home after slaying every night. At least it makes it easier to borrow her clothes when they've had blood on them. I could spill ketchup on them and she wouldn't know the difference._

_Again, being the Slayer isn't really all that cool…once you get past the whole vampires are real thing…And how much pain the job involves. It's really just a bunch of flying kicks and throwing punches at things that look really ugly. I still think Willow and Tara have the cooler job description, being witches and all that. I love looking over the books they have sitting in their room. I like all the words that rhyme when you say them…although they told me not to say them. Something about calling forth things I couldn't control._

_Whatever. I think they all underestimate me._

* * *

As the cloud came hurdling towards her, Dawn barely had enough time to turn around to face the object of everyone's concern before she felt the cloud become a solid and crash into her. The force of the impact made her fly off of her feet and slam into the door behind her, the wooden object nearly breaking off of its hinges. Closing her eyes, she felt like something inside of her was changing rapidly, or something was coming to the forefront after being hidden in the dark, as if she had something new flowing through her blood stream.

Hearing the entire group of people in the adjacent room rushing towards her, she reached out for something to help pull herself up, her legs momentarily feeling like mush underneath her. Allowing Xander and Anya to help her back onto her feet, she stared down at her chest, looking for any sign of a wound that the spell could have left. There was no blood, no mark, no torn clothing. _And I still have all my skin. Bonus points for not having that happen to me._

"Dawnie, are you ok?" Willow asked, concern and fear lining her eyes despite the dim lighting in the room. She looked like she was moments away from crying, the fear of possibly hurting the teenager again overwhelming her.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure, nothing broken or falling off?" Anya asked, her tone remaining in its usual 'I care but I really don't' style. "Because that's been known to happen with Willow's spells."

"Not really helping, thanks." Xander said underneath his breath.

"No, really, I'm fine. I just feel a little weird."

"Good weird or bad weird?"

"A little of both." As Xander and Anya let go of her, Dawn slowly walked over to the couch and sat down, the feeling inside of her still refusing to cease.

"Wait, if the spell was supposed to go after a potential, then that means…" Anya started, her eyes lighting up along with everyone else in the room. "You're a potential!"

"What?" The younger Summers girl asked, having completely forgotten what they had cast the spell for. "But, I can't be…I'm..._Dawn_."

"You know, in the demon world, it's fairly common for offspring to have the same role as their older siblings." Anya continued, a smile gracing her face. "I'm sure Buffy's going to be proud."

"Wait, if I'm a potential, then…"

"You get all the perks that come with it, such as creepy guys without eyes coming after you." Xander finished, his face completely purged of happiness. "You know, all the normal things a girl your age should be going through."

"Oh, goddess, did... did my spell do something to you?" Willow asked, the concern in her eyes still not having a faded away.

"Willow, _breathe_. I'm fine, ok?" Dawn responded, looking at the older girl with eyes filled with mixed emotion. In part, she hadn't really forgiven the Wicca for making her break her arm months ago, but they were gradually making their way towards rebuilding their relationship. Trust was something that was earned, and so far, the Witch was making slow steps in the direction of regaining it.

"But, you're a potential now, Buffy's going to freak! I mean, she was freaked when she found out you were the Key, but this is going to be a thousand times worse, and I'm babbling now, aren't I?"

"You are. You can stop whenever you want." Anya said, momentarily looking away from the young girl in front of her.

"Buffy's not going to find out." As the words left her lips, Dawn almost smiled as she realized she had everyone else's rapid attention.

"What do you mean? She's the Slayer, she always finds out things." Anya inquired, her eyes becoming flooded with confusion.

"We don't have to tell her right away, do we?"

"Dawnie, I think it would be in our best interests to do that. Otherwise the whole forces of evil trying to kill you thing would be a little harder to explain."

"I'll tell her eventually, it's just…this is a lot to take in all at once."

"She does have a point." The red-headed Witch added, looking over at Xander. "I mean, remember how you felt when you learned Buffy was the Slayer?"

"What, you mean, totally and utterly _wigged,_ but at the same time awe struck?"

"Yeah, exactly. Imagine what she's going through right now."

"Uh, guys, still in the room over here." The older Scoobies' attentions turning back to her, Dawn offered a small, forced smile.

"Look, I'm fine, really. It's just…if I was ever called, that would mean that Buffy was…dead…right?"

"Well, of course, that's the only way a Slayer can be called…and I'm not helping here, aren't I?" Anya said, the ignorant look on her face fading away as she realized what she was answering.

"Hold on, just a minute. Are we even completely, without a doubt sure that she's a potential? I mean, was there someone outside?"

"Xander, can't you see the glow around her?" As if on cue, a faint yellow glow began to appear around the younger Summers child, making her stand out against the wall and couch behind her. Seeing the eyes going up and down her figure, Dawn looked down, her eyes growing large with shock as she saw the glow illuminating around her.

"Ooh, shiny." Anya said, smiling slightly with a small sense of amusement. "Move around a little bit, you look like one of those signs outside of clubs."

"Anya, not the time." Willow said, her eyes never once leaving Dawn's body. "Guess this is the confirmation we needed."

"So that's it? There's nothing you can do to reverse it or something?" Xander asked, turning back towards Willow. "We're just supposed to let the First come after her?"

"What do you want me to do? I don't have that much power."

"Guys…" Dawn started, almost sighing as she watched Xander and Willow continue to argue, her voice having gone unheard by everyone except Anya.

"You're telling me there's not some spell you could do?"

"Xander, it's not something I can just make happen. If Fate says that Dawn was meant to be a potential, then it's not something that I can just make disappear!"

"Guys." Raising her voice a little, the younger Summers child still sat unheard on the couch.

"Why not?!"

_"GUYS!"_ As her yell echoed through the house, Xander and Willow finally ceased their argument and looked at Dawn, the girl's face awash with emotion that she was trying best not to show. "Look, I appreciate all the concern, but I'll be fine. I just want to keep this between us for a while. Buffy has enough on her mind already."

"This is true. She was almost killed recently." Smiling, Anya nodded at her.

"Thanks, Anya." Dawn said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "So, if we could just keep this quiet for a little while, I'd appreciate it."

"Alright, but you have to tell Buffy _sometime._ She's not gonna like finding out about her sister being a potential when the First is knocking at the front door."

"I'll tell her, I…I just need some time to think of what to say."

"Right, cause just saying 'Hey sis, I'm a potential now, train me!' isn't going to come out too good." Getting onto her feet, Dawn headed towards the stairs, pushing a few stray strands of hair out of her eyes.

"I'm just gonna go get some sleep. I'll talk to you guys tomorrow." As she headed up the stairs, she could hear the older Scoobies saying good-night before they all headed back into the living room. Before she had even reached the top of the stairs, she could hear the conversation continuing below her, Xander and Willow's voices floating up through the floor.

"_Are you kidding? You think Buffy is gonna be happy when we tell her 'Hey, your little sister is a potential now, protect her!' You know how much stress she had protecting her from Glory." _

"_Xander, just calm down! We've been through bigger problems before, we'll handle this one like we handled anything else."_

"_Um, but didn't you try to destroy the entire world when our main enemy killed you lesbian lover?"_

"_Anya!"_

"_I'm going to pretend like I didn't hear that. Really, there's nothing I can do. I highly doubt there's a spell in any of my books that tells you how to change someone into something they're not. At least, nothing in their blood that we can change."_

"_Oh, so this all makes sense now, like when Buffy said they shared the same blood. I never understood that until now." _

"_Can we try to focus here? Dawn's a potential now, and she doesn't want us to tell Buffy right away…so what do we do? I mean, we can't just leave her untrained so that when our eyeless friends show up with their axes to kill her, she's an easy target all around."_

"_She's not completely undefended, um hello, we have a Slayer and a punch of trained potentials around the house at all times. Plus when she's at school, Buffy's there as well. She's under someone's watch at all times."_

"_And we know how well it went the last time those freaks came to kill one of the potentials."_

"_Hey, I seem to remember that we won that battle. What are you trying to imply?"_

"_That we were lucky. Come on, I know we have a pretty great track record so far, but things can go wrong. Remember the whole Buffy sacrificing herself thing?"_

"_Don't even try to throw that in my face, Xander. Do you realize what I suffered through to get her back?" _

* * *

As the conversation continued without a clear end in sight, Dawn sighed and closed the door to her bedroom, the sound below her feet becoming slightly more muffled, but still audible to the trained ear. Falling backwards onto her bed, she stared up at the ceiling with no single purpose in mind, simply letting the thoughts in her head go every which way imaginable.

She was a _potential_ now. She was practically a Slayer, only without any of the training, experience, or 'powers' that her sister had received…and to receive those, the current Slayer had to die. That single thought about being a potential frightened her more than anything else, even more than the threat of having minions crash through the house with the objective of killing her in order to end the line. She had watched her sister die twice now, once at the hands of the Master, and then by jumping into a portal to save everyone else's lives. The latter had been the hardest thing she had ever experienced in her life, along with the death of her mother. She remembered how abandoned she had felt during those months, living with Tara and Willow in the same house as if they were her parents…in a weird, lesbian sort of way.

But now, things had changed in oh so many ways. Willow had brought Buffy back, and as if fate had decided to punish her, Tara had died at the hands of Warren, nearly causing the young Wicca to destroy the world as she had enveloped herself in the Dark Magicks. The Magick Box had been destroyed completely from that single twist of fate, and now, their entire lives hung in the balance of whether or not they could defeat this evil thing that seemed to be singling them out amongst the entire world.

Giles said it was evil in its truest and purest form. That didn't fill any of them with confidence.

Rolling over onto her side, Dawn closed her eyes as her head hit the pillow. The truth of what she was now still hardly made any sense. She had been the Key before, and now, she was a Potential? How was that even possible? Willow had mentioned something about sharing the same blood as Buffy, so maybe somehow the Slayer 'gene' had gotten into her when she had been turned into a human. That made sense, again, in a weird sort of way.

_God, how is Buffy even going to react to this? _She thought, the sentence rolling around in her mind as she kept her eyes closed. Her sister barely even knew how to take care of the other potentials living underneath the same roof as her, so how was someone _related_ to her going to fair? Would she even bother to train her, or simply keep her where everything was safe and there was no chance of her even getting a scratch?

For the second time in her life, Dawn's life had changed dramatically. But was it for the better?

* * *

As the rest of the potentials flooded into the house, Buffy gave a sigh of relief as she shut the door behind her. They had seen no sign of the First at all, and part of her felt relieved at the fact that it was lying dormant for the time being. That would at least give them some time to properly regroup and come up with a plan. Time was an essential thing, and every second they spent doing nothing was another second the First would use against them.

"So, any luck on finding our other potential?" She asked, brushing past the welcoming gestures as she entered the room.

"Um, kinda."

"What do you mean by that? Did the spell not work?"

"Why ye-." Anya started before Xander shot up off of the couch and interrupted her.

"No, it didn't. The spell hit the door and disappeared. No located potential." Perking up her eyebrow, Buffy looked at her friend with confusion filling out her eyes.

"Really? Maybe you have to do it outside."

"Could be. I'll check the books and see if there's anything in there about the appropriate place to cast it." Willow said, getting up out of the chair she was in. "Hopefully they'll say something."

"I don't remember this ever happening before when you've done locator spells." As she leaned herself against the wall at her side, Buffy crossed her arms across her chest as she waited for the Wicca's response. Looking into her friends eyes, Willow felt her heart beat starting to increase. She had always hated lying, but lying to a Slayer, and her best friend was even worse.

"I know, maybe it has something to do with the Slayer essence in their blood?"

"Could be, we should ask Giles about it."

"Yeah, we'll ask Giles." Willow said, adding a slightly nervous chuckle as she finished speaking. Eying her friend, Buffy knew that something wasn't right. She had known Willow long enough, and had heard her usual mannerisms enough times before to know when she was lying or trying to hide something.

"Ok, drop the act, what's going on?" She asked, her face adopting a serious outlook. Her eyes lighting up, Willow looked away, trying to hide the surprise she felt inside.

"Um, Buffy, you see…"

"See what?"

"I stole money from your account." Anya blurted out, offering a smile as the Slayer's eyes grew larger with a combination of shock and anger.

"You did _what_?"

"I needed money to buy…sex things, so I borrowed some cash from you." Turning her gaze from where the vengeance demon was sitting, Buffy looked back at Willow.

"And you knew about this?"

"She told Xander, and he told me." She explained, Buffy's gaze still falling on her.

"Yeah, that's exactly what happened. I'm sorry, but I really needed to buy those things." Turning away, Buffy shook her head and silently made her way up the stairs, leaving the remaining Scoobies in the room in silence.

"Well, that went better than I thought it would." Anya said after hearing Buffy clear the last step on the staircase. Glaring down at her, Willow nearly shouted her answer, her tone barely under her control.

"You stole her money? Yeah, that's a great excuse. You should have told her that you burned a picture of her mother while you were at it!"

"It worked, didn't it? You know, this is why I didn't like humans at first, you're always so quick to judge and make assumptions!"

"We're _what?_" Both Xander and Willow said simultaneously, the sound of it echoing throughout the room. As the three bodies paused to make sure that no-one would rush downstairs due to the outburst, the argument resumed.

"Anya, do you realize that what you said might have made her suspect something_ is_ going on?"

"And what if she doesn't? You have me to thank."

* * *

As she lay in the dark, Dawn still found sleep to be an elusive thing. Every window and door to the room was shut and latched tightly, her way of trying to make herself feel safe, despite having a Slayer underneath the same roof. There was of course the stake and cross she kept underneath her bed, something that she had taken to doing after she had heard the screaming match between Buffy and her mother shortly before her sister had sent Angel to Hell…or at least, that's what the monks had made her remember. She still found it hard to believe at times that she had once been the Key, an object that had made her the target of a Hell God's wrath.

Blinking for a long moment, she opened her eyes and again focused on the numerous objects on the opposing wall, trying to pick apart details she knew by heart. She would need to know how to spot things in the dark if she would ever be able to be a Slayer if…if it came down to losing her sister somehow.

Death was a normal part of life, that's what Giles had told her sometime after her mother had died. The Watcher had comforted her better than Buffy had, considering that her sister had adopted a 'don't ask and don't tell' approach to the grief she felt.

Rolling over to face the other wall, the Potential again began to pick apart details of various objects, letting her eyes trace over picture frames, a desk, and other things that had always been in here.

She knew she wasn't going to be getting any sleep tonight.


	2. Self Taught Lesson

**Sorry for the long wait between updates. It took me awhile to properly figure out where I wanted to take this story.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the other Buffyverse characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"Dawn, come on, you're going to be late for school!" As her eyes continued to scan the wall only a few feet away from her, Dawn could hear Buffy's voice cutting through the relative calm of the morning. The somewhat soft pitter-patter of footsteps on the wooden floor echoed throughout the entire upper-floor as the few potentials left in the house started their day.

The _other _potentials.

She had been awake for almost four hours now, and she still had no idea of what to say to Buffy, simply to let her know what she was now. Every time she even came close to have the seeds of what to say in the conversation, the words slipped away as fear and doubt came flooding in from the same source. Being a potential hardly meant anything, considering that it granted her no power, no advanced abilities, and no weapons training. The only thing she had received was that the Bringers would be looking for her now as well, wanting to spill her blood in their master's attempt to end the Slayer line.

The already large risk that she might die had only grown larger.

"Dawn?" Looking up from the wall, she saw Buffy standing in the doorway, already dressed and prepared for her job as Sunnydale High's guidance consular.

"What?" Dawn asked, her gaze finally breaking from the wall.

"Come on, time for school. Don't want to keep the Hellmouth waiting." As she finished speaking, the older sister offered her a smile.

"Yeah, guess we don't." Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, the brunette gave a quick glance to where her sister had departed, and then sighed. "It's not like I could die or anything."

The rest of the morning was hardly anything different. Willow and Xander looked at her with silent glances that asked if she had found the words to tell Buffy yet. Looking back at them, she shook her head back and forth, stopping the motion as Buffy and Kennedy came into the kitchen, discussing something that Dawn auto-tuned out. It had become something she had grown used to doing over the past weeks, trying to focus on anything else but matters that concerned the fight against The First.

A part of her knew that she should listen, that if she was going to be a potential, she had to be up to date with any information on the enemies that were against them. But for some reason, her mind still felt slightly numb, and she remained silent, thinking if she had missed anything important during second period History. The teacher who taught the class wasn't boring per say, but he couldn't make the subject…_interesting_. After learning about the real history through the demon books Giles had always kept, the watered down and edited version didn't seem all that interesting. After all, once you learned about Hell Gods through personal experience, the American Revolution seemed like a children's game.

"Dawn? Earth to Dawn!"

"Huh, _wha?"_ Knocked out of her thoughts, Dawn could see Buffy waving her hand in front of her sister's face in an attempt to try and get her attention.

"You zoned out, I asked if you got any more translations done."

"A little, I was kinda drained last night."

"Why, what happened?" Looking over her shoulder, Buffy threw a questioning look in Xander and Willow's directions.

"Nothing, couldn't sleep. Because you know, the whole First Evil thing wanting to take a shot at your sister had me worried."

"She does have a point." Kennedy added, before shoving a spoon-full of cereal into her mouth. " I know a few of the other girls have been having trouble sleeping as well."

"Well, we just have to keep on our guard." As Buffy turned back towards Dawn, she flashed her sister that same smile once again. "Alright, off to school."

* * *

"This wave of murders across the entire continent of Europe held most of the entire Eastern world in the grip of fear. Can anyone tell me what the press back then named this murderer?" As Mr. Sucanon turned, he saw hardly anyone in his class raise their hands, the scene almost making him sigh in disappointment. Finally, he noticed a girl in the back raising her hand, the gesture hardly able to be seen over the massive sea of heads that surrounded her.

"Yes, you in the back." Standing up in order to be seen by the teacher, the girl offered him a small smile before she answered.

"The Scourge of Europe."

"Correct. Thank you." As the girl sat back down, Mr. Sucanon turned back to the black-board and wrote down a few more things, a slight mist of chalk dust floating up into the air in the process.

Sitting in the back row, Dawn continued to pretend to be listening, her thoughts still on anything but school work. Her eyes closed as she rested her hand atop her folded arms, she heard the conversation from the previous night playing over and over again in her head, the words never once losing their clarity. She had thought last night that maybe it was simply a dream, that she was still the somewhat normal sister of the Slayer. But she wasn't that same person anymore. She was a potential, the legacy of the Slayer line.

And if it came down to it, she would be the legacy of her sister's death.

"_Dawn Summers."_ Opening her eyes, Dawn could hear her voice being called, the sound of it seemingly unfamiliar to her. As she raised her head off of the desk, she was faced with the entire room becoming an empty shell. The desks that had been filled with disinterested students now sat devoid of life, the conversation that Mr. Sucanon had been having seemingly vanished into thin air. As the silence around her began to un-nerve the young potential, the voice again spoke out, repeating her name just as it had done before.

"Hello?" As she stood up out of her seat, a pure white light began to shine in through the window on the door, its effect somewhat hindered by the rest of the door. Her feet falling into step against her better judgment, she made her way towards the door, the sound of her footsteps echoing through the entire room. As her fingers gripped the doorknob, the potential slowly opened the door, watching as more and more of the white light poured into the room, and purged the floor and surrounding objects of shadows.

The hallway itself was bathed in nothing but the pure light, the color seemingly appearing out of nowhere. Her feet still in step, Dawn looked around the hallway, trying to see if there was anything that she could use to identify where she was. The voice that had called her out here had been largely silent since she had gotten out of her seat, and a part of her longed for the voice to once again speak up. As she stopped dead in her tracks, that longing was satisfied.

"_Dawn Summers."_ It said, the voice's tone devoid of any and all emotion.

"Hello?"

"_You have no idea exactly what you're dealing with."_ It continued, the sound of it circling around her just as the white light began to grow even brighter, the effect effectively blinding her. _"Or of what lies ahead for you in the future. You must be ready for the events already set in motion."_

"What events?" Squinting, she could barely make out her hands in front of her face as the white light overtook her entire vision.

"_Things that once they come to pass, you shall only understand once your part is accomplished."_

"Dawn?" Her head shooting up from where it had sat undisturbed atop her folded arms, Dawn looked around, seeing the room was exactly as it had been in her dream, only a lone figure stood beside her.

"Huh, what?"

"You fell asleep, class is over." Mr. Sucanon answered, his voice neither angry nor sympathetic. Quickly gathering her things, Dawn gave the man a quick apology and made her way out the door, the chaos of the between classes schedule still going in full swing out in the hall. Ignoring her locker, she walked towards her next class, the dream still fresh in her mind.

* * *

As she heard the door to Buffy's room finally close, Dawn's eyes opened, the illusion that she had been sleeping perfectly shattered. Giving a quick glance around the room, she was glad that for the moment there were no other potentials bunking in her room at the moment. Swinging her legs swiftly over the side of her bed, she slowly set her feet down onto the ground. Seeing no sign that anyone had heard her movement, she pushed her full weight down onto her feet. She knew which floor-boards to step on, trying to minimize any possible sound that the floor could give away.

She was already dressed, her attire mostly consisting of pure black, apart from the cross she wore around her neck. The stake she always kept under her bed was waiting for her atop her desk, and as she made her way past it, she reached out and grabbed it before shoving it into the loop of her belt. As she reached the window, she gave one last look across the room, not even breathing in order to properly hear what was going on throughout the house. Satisfied that there was no-one wake and moving about, she slipped her hands underneath the window, and gently pushed it up, the glass never once making a sound.

As she made her way across the roof, she again watched and made her steps with quiet precision, knowing that one slip up and she'd not only probably fall off the roof, but also wake everyone else in the house up. Reaching the lowest part of the roof, she closed her eyes, and dropped down, the impact of her landing sending a shock-wave through her legs. The night around her was otherwise silent, the stars above her slightly visible, but otherwise invisible to her eyes due to the street-lights that bordered the sidewalk.

Her feet falling into step, she pushed all thoughts of who was still inside the house out of her mind. She tried to remember all the things that Buffy had told her about Slaying, and saw all the times she had watched her sister fight both vampires and demons.

Hopefully all of that would help her with what she intended to do tonight.

* * *

The graveyard was just as silent as the streets had been on the way over, with not even the occasional sound of a car to break the un-ending quiet. As she passed through row after row of tombstones, mausoleums, and statues, Dawn wished that one of the undead would finally just rise. She had been here for close to an hour now, and to say that she was bored would be an understatement. Had Buffy ever been this bored waiting for the undead to rise?

"Get lost somewhere, little girl?" Stopping dead in her tracks, she looked down at the stake she held in her hand, her grip on the weapon almost stone-like. Trying to push any shred of fear out of her expression, she turned slowly, her eyes finally landing on a newly risen vampire standing only a few feet away from her. How she hadn't heard him claw his way out of the ground earlier mystified her. As he looked at her, she could tell that it was with the kind of look that only someone craving blood could possibly show. To say the effect was slightly un-nerving wasn't necessary. She was alone this time, Buffy wouldn't be able to hold her hand any longer, or protect her when it came down to the fighting.

"Nope, I just like taking relaxing walks through graveyards at night." The taunt seemed like something her sister would say, and it seemed strange to hear the words coming out in her own voice. The vampire in front of her didn't pick up on the awkwardness, and instead took the taunt at face value.

"Shouldn't be out this late, all kinds of nasty people just looking to take a bite out of something as young as you." He started to walk towards her, his yellow eyes staring at her from out of the darkness. "Kinda like me."

"You know, I'm not sure the law would look favorably on the two of us having a relationship, considering the age difference...and the fact that you're a vampire. Besides, I'm still waiting for that special someone, and my family has some experience in the whole dating a vampire thing."

"Oh, so the secret's out of the bag now? Good, saves me the trouble of telling you." He stopped, letting his tongue roll over one of his exposed fangs. "Granted, it would have been interesting to see the look on your face." In the single blink of an eye, he threw himself at her, the sheer brute weight of his body forcing her onto the ground. As the stake flew out of her hand and rolled in the grass, Dawn struggled underneath the vampire, his weight effectively preventing her from getting back onto her feet. Her heart beat continued to increase as pure fear ran through her blood.

"Well, that didn't last long, did it?" The vampire hardly wasted any more time taunting her as he leaned his mouth down towards her neck, his fangs just barely touching the skin above her jugular. Turning her head quick enough, she slammed the side of her cheek into the vamp's head, momentarily throwing him off balance. Already seeing the opening she needed, the potential kicked upwards, her knee connecting with the area between the vamp's thighs. As he rolled off of her, she quickly crawled over towards her stake, the cross around her neck falling out from underneath her shirt in the process. Behind her, the vampire was already recovering himself, despite the pain he felt from the girl's kick.

"Ok, you know, I was gonna make this quick. I was gonna get my meal, and you weren't going to feel a thing. But now, I'm gonna make this as _slow_ as possible." Getting back onto his feet, the vamp watched as the girl grabbed the stake again, getting back onto her feet as quickly as she could manage. Looking down at the metal piece of jewelry around her neck, he noticed the cross and felt repulsion course through his undead veins.

"What, don't tell me you're afraid of a little bitty cross?" Regaining some of her confidence, Dawn walked towards the vampire, holding the cross out with her free hand. In front of her, the vamp continued to back away, the cross sending untold amounts of fear and anger that he couldn't explain through his system. "God, and I thought people who were afraid of spiders were pathetic." As she watched the vamp, she bit back the burst of laughter as she saw he was backing himself straight into a tombstone. When his body made contact with the years old stone, he tripped over it, his body landing on the ground much in the same matter that Dawn had earlier.

Not wasting a single moment, she was on top of him in a moment, raising the stake above her head and slamming it down onto his chest, her hand feeling slightly sore as she felt a bone snap under the force of the blow. She felt something soft meet the pointed end of the stake, and within seconds, the vampire exploded into dust beneath her, the ashes covering the lower half and legs of her pants. Looking up from where the vampire had been laying only a moment before, she found the graveyard completely and utterly silent around her.

Her heart continued to beat heavily in her chest, the adrenaline that was pumping through every inch of her veins still going in full swing. Was this what Buffy had felt a few days after she had first been called, that night when she had watched her try to sneak back in, only to be caught by Mom and Dad? The fight they had gotten into that night had been the first time that Dawn could ever remember her parents fighting when both she and Buffy were in the house at the same time.

It had also been the night when the thought that her parents could get a divorce had first crossed her mind. She had asked Buffy about it once, the conversation having happened only weeks before the Slayer had burned down the High School's gym. Everything after that had spiraled out into utter chaos, with Buffy actually leaving for a number of weeks without any note telling them where she had gone. When she had returned home, Mom and Dad had insisted she see a psychiatrist after they had found her diary, the pages inside covered with numerous references to vampires and Slaying.

As the ground beneath her feet began to feel more solid, Dawn felt tired. She hadn't worn her wrist-watch, so she purely estimated what time it was. The sky above her was still dark, but it was growing lighter with each passing moment. Shoving the stake into the loop of her belt, she started towards the entrance to the graveyard, the various tombstones and mausoleums seemingly staring back at her as she walked.

The streets of Sunnydale were beginning to thin out as the days turned into weeks. The townspeople had turned a blind eye to many things that happened within the borders of the town, but even they knew that this battle was one that they wouldn't be able to ignore and act as if nothing was happening. They would want to get out of here before the final hammer came down and took anything and anyone left in the city with it.

Looking up, Dawn could see the Summers house looming up ahead of her, the lights across the entire building still fully blacked out. Making sure the stake was still snug between her belt and her pants, she jumped, her hands gripping the overhanging tree branch. Her tired body screamed at her to simply walk in the front door, but her mind prevailed, and she pulled herself up onto the branch. Her window was still open slightly, just as she had left it, and as she slowly pushed the glass up, making sure that it didn't so much as emit a whisper, she swung her leg over the window-sill and entered her room.

Only bothering to take off her shoes, she collapsed onto her bed, her mind already dreaming before her head hit the pillow.


	3. The Bringers

**Again, sorry for the long wait inbetween updates. I'm taking this one slow in order to get the best writing possible out of it. **

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the other Buffyverse characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy, as well as the WB and UPN.**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Her entire body still felt sore as she opened her eyes, the light flooding into the room momentarily blinding her as it landed on her eyes.

"Dawnie?" As her vision started to adjust to the light, she saw the faint outline of Willow's face standing above her, a nervous smile on her face. "Hey, um, time to get up."

_"Just five more minutes."_ Dawn groaned, grabbing her pillow and using it to cover her face as a shield from the sunlight.

"Rough night?" The Witch asked, sitting down on the edge of the mattress, and slowly lifting the pillow off of the girl's face.

"Trust me, you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

"I um…sneaked out and fought a vampire?"

"You did _WHAT?!" _Covering her mouth, Willow quickly looked the hallway, afraid that Buffy or someone else might have heard. Minutes passed, and satisfied that no-one had heard her outburst, she turned her attention back to the Potential beside her.

"You did _what?_ Are you ok? Did it hurt you?" She asked, her eyes still filled with concern. "Did it bite you, because you know those can leave a massive thing that's a little bit like a hickey, and those aren't good to get either because everyone at school will know that you and someone else were doing something…"

"Willow!" Dawn finally said, stopping the babbling almost instantly. "You're babbling again."

"Oh, sorry."

"Look, I'm fine. I got him, although my hand kinda hurts a little bit. Who knew that putting a stake through bone would hurt so bad?"

"Did…does Buffy know?"

"No, not yet."

"Dawnie, you have to tell her sometime. If you keep going out in the middle of the night, she's going to catch on sooner or later."

"I'm trying, but I…I just can't come up with the words."

"Can you at least try to hurry, I don't like lying to Buffy. In my experience, lying leads to madness and anger."

"Don't worry, It won't last for much longer."

_"Willow?"_ Upon hearing Buffy's voice echoing up the stairs, the red-head offered a final smile to the younger Summers girl, and headed out the door. Waiting for a few long moments, Dawn got onto her feet, the muscles in her body almost begging her to lay back down and go to sleep. Looking down at her arms, she was almost relieved that there were no signs of any bruising, despite the way the vampire had tackled her to the ground. If there had even been one black-and-blue smudge on her body, Buffy would notice and questions would rise.

Attention wasn't something she wanted right now.

* * *

"Kennedy, can I talk to you?" As she ceased her assault against the punching bag that lay suspended in front of her, the Potential turned, her mind already expecting to find Buffy or one of the other Potentials to be standing behind her. When she instead found Dawn standing there, her mind momentarily drew a blank before it regained its normal 'posture'. Looking at the Slayer's sister with questioning eyes, she thought about smiling at her, but decided against going through with the gesture.

"Yeah, sure. There a problem?"

"I…um, I've got a favor I need to ask." The girl wasn't looking at her for some odd reason, but again the Potential decided not to call her out on it.

"Which is…?"

"I…I need you to teach more how to fight." As she heard the question leave the girl's lips, Kennedy caught the slightest reflection of reluctance in Dawn's eyes.

"Um, ok…you mind telling me_ why?"_

"I'm…I'm the new Potential Willow was looking for…" The words echoed through the air as nothing more than a mere whisper, the look on the girl's face showing that she was still unsure of what to feel. "The one that they couldn't find?"

"You _are?!" _She nearly screamed her answer, but managed to restrain her voice inside her throat. "Then why doesn't Buffy know?"

"I'm not ready to tell her yet. She's got enough people to worry about right now without me getting in the way."

"So you want me to teach you to fight like the others do because…_why?_ Sorry if I'm a little confused with this, but it's a little strange."

"When the time comes, she's going to need everyone she can get in order to fight this thing. I want to be there, and I don't want her to think that I'm not capable of defending myself."

"And you basically want me to put you through the whole 'I'm training to be a Potential Slayer thing', just like all the others?"

"That's kinda what I'm asking for here." There was a short bit of silence between the two of them before Kennedy shoved her hands into the pockets of her sweat-pants.

"Alright then, give me twenty."

"What?" The order having caught the Potential off-guard, Dawn looked at the older girl with a confused look adorning her features.

"You heard me, get on the ground and give me twenty."

"I said I wanted to learn how to fight, not go through gym class again."

"You told me you wanted to go through what all the rest of us are, so you get the entire package. _Twenty. Right now_." Rolling her eyes at the girl's command, the younger Summers daughter nevertheless got onto the floor and assumed the position that she had learned from her years of gym class.

"One." She said aloud, pushing up with her arms as the other Potential watched her silently.

"Two."

* * *

As she finally reached the last number, she dropped fully onto the ground, a small blanket of sweat starting to appear on her forehead. The cement beneath her stomach felt cool to the touch, and it helped relieve some of warmth running through her body due to the unexpected exercise.

"Wow, I take it you're not that much of a gym person?"

"Not…really." Dawn managed to spit out, the tired muscles in her arms not wanting to move another inch.

"You can stand up now." Groaning slightly, she nevertheless managed to get back onto her feet, her body remaining sore for a few more seconds before the feeling began to disappear.

"Alright, hit me."

"What?" Just as she had earlier, Dawn stared back at the other Potential with questioning eyes, unsure if what she had just heard Kennedy say was correct.

"I want you to hit me as hard as you can. Don't hold back." Raising her fists into a fighting stance that she vaguely remembered Buffy explaining, she could feel her tired body wanting to stop and rest, but she continued on.

"Are you sure about thi-" she started to say before she felt Kennedy's solid fist slam into the upper portion of her arm.

_"Ow!"_ She said, taking a step back as the wave of pain from the hit cycled through her body.

"Don't hesitate, just react." Stepping back herself, the other Potential fell into her own fighting stance, silent as she waited for Dawn's response. Looking back at Kennedy, she felt a slight thread of anger running through her veins, and as she mumbled a response that sounded somewhat like an 'ok', she swung her fist towards her fellow Potential. The swing being easily deflected by the more experienced girl, she again tried to push her way past the girl's defense. Again and again her attacks were only met with blocks, the rage inside of her beginning to boil up rapidly.

"You're getting better, keep trying." Kennedy said as she again blocked the girl's attack with the side of her arm. With each punch, the younger Summers child was getting closer, her attacks continuing to come closer to hitting their mark. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead, and inside her chest her heart-beat continued to be fueled with a slight burst of adrenaline. Her lungs were beginning to beg for air as every action in her body became concentrated towards breaking Kennedy's defenses.

As she swing her fist for the umpteenth time, she allowed herself to smile when her fist finally made it past Kennedy's forearm and made contact with the upper portion of her chest. Taking a step back in order to collect herself, the other Potential nevertheless dropped her arms to her sides.

"Ok, that was good." The words left her lips with sincere emotion. "Your timing could use some work, but I think you've got it a little bit better than some of the others. We just gotta keep up with this."

"Remember, Buffy can't find out about this."

"Hey, I won't tell if you don't."

"Thanks." Grabbing one of the towels lying on the nearby hand-rail, Dawn wiped the sweat that covered her forehead off of her body. "I'll tell her soon."

"Guess you kinda have to considering that those eye-less guys are gonna be gunning for you as well now. You're officially one of us now, welcome to the club."

"Thanks." The word was drenched with sarcasm and dread. She had tried her best to avoid thinking about the unavoidable attacks by the First's minions that would no doubt come soon enough. It all reminded her too much of how it had felt once she had found out that she had once been the Key, and that the Hellgod that had arrived in Sunnydale had been looking for her. Both she and Buffy had been hunted without mercy, and all of it had ended with Buffy throwing herself into a portal that had threatened to destroy the world.

Everything had changed since then. Buffy had come back, Tara had died, and Willow had gotten all veiny and black-haired. Nothing had ever been the same or normal since they had all come to Sunnydale.

Nothing would ever be normal, just as it never had been.

* * *

Sneaking out of the house for a second time was an easy feat, just as it had been two nights ago. Buffy had taken the other Potentials out for some kind of 'field trip' to one of the local vamp nests, leaving Dawn and the other 'normal' people inside the house to their own devices for a few hours. Waiting until the rest of the household was asleep, Dawn again made her way to the window and stepped out onto the roof, gradually making her way down the slope of the house until she reached the point until she could hop down.

She had almost come close to telling Buffy about her newly found Potential status, but again the words had vanished from her mind as soon as she had opened her mouth. Stumbling over her missing words, she had managed to come up with an excuse why she had attracted her sister's attention, changing the focus of the conversation to a newly finished translation. Afterwards, she had almost slapped herself for chickening out on telling Buffy. What was so hard about saying _'Hey, Buffy, I'm a Potential now!'_? Sure she would be shocked, and so majorly not happy, but at this point, Dawn just wanted to let the secret out.

The night air around her was as black and quiet as it was thick. Above her, the stars were just barely visible, even more so than they had been two nights ago. It was as if the heavens themselves were afraid of the inevitable struggle that would soon engulf the entire area above the Hellmouth. Sunnydale's days were numbered, and it didn't take a genius to see that. A feeling of almost pure, unrestrained evil hung in the air, the sensation of it so strong and undodgeable that she couldn't simply ignore it.

She walked until the graveyard met her eyes, the over-hanging sign seemingly welcoming her as it passed over her head. All around her, the countless tombstones were silent in their observation of her and her purpose in being here so late into the night. The stake that still lay in her belt loop continued to slap against her jeans, the feeling of the weapon assuring her that it was still there. The pointed edge was seemingly begging for an unbeating heart to target, its desires utterly silent just like the night around it.

There were hardly any fresh graves around the entire grounds, a symbol of just how many people had finally started to leave town. Without a constant supply of fresh blood to feed the many Demons around the Hellmouth, the vampire population had started to dwindle. It was a far cry from the years previous where the vampires' numbers were nearly overflowing. The First simply hadn't a need for the typical run-of-the-mill vampires when it had a constantly growing army of Ubervamps inside the Hellmouth itself.

"Alone in a graveyard. 'Hello, my name is Buffy. What's yours?'" The words left her lips and echoed through the entire grounds. Nothing replied to her sarcastic statement except the shadows which remained silent in their observations. Sighing, she leaned back against one of the more sturdy tombstones, and waited, hoping that she could pick apart a vampire from the shadows. Turning her head to the left in order to look out across the small slope, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. As she turned towards the area, she stopped and waited for the movement to happen again.

There was a small moment of silence until she heard the unmistakable sound of a leaf crackling underneath a pair of boots. Her body relying on its instincts, Dawn reached down and grabbed the stake that still lay in her belt-loop. Having a weapon so close at hand reassured her that she wasn't completely defenseless in the situation she found herself in. She heard Kennedy's words of advice repeating over and over again in her head, the training session she had taken part in only the day before bringing back a certain feeling to all of her muscles.

The sound again pressed at her hearing, its origin seemingly all around her now. Turning her body around in a semi-circle, she looked through every inch of the shadows, various shapes taking form and then rapidly disappearing as soon as they had arrived. Pulling the stake out of the belt-loop, she almost instantly had a death-grip on the weapon, her finger-nails almost digging into the wood itself. Inside her chest, her heart felt like it might explode at any given moment. Her head still turning, she thought for a moment that she could pick out the shape of something, but then it was gone again.

"Ok, I'm _really_ not liking this…" Her words had no effect on whatever was continuing to circle around her, and as she finally stopped her circuit, Dawn felt a strong hand fall down on her shoulder. Turning and moving on nothing more than pure instinct, she held the stake up in a stabbing position, her mind prepared to strike down whatever had been cycling around her.

"_Dawn?"_ As the name left Buffy's lips, her younger sister's eyes grew large once she recognized who was standing in front of her.

"Buffy?" Her gaze going up to the stake her sister held in her hands, the Slayer crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Ok, considering the fact that you're holding a pointy stake at me, I'm going to give you three seconds to explain why you're out here." She said as she perked up her eyebrow, silently demanding an explanation.

"Well, um, you see…"

"I'm waiting."

"I'm, sort of, kinda of….ok, this is kinda hard to say."

"We've got time. I'm all ears." The hand holding the stake already lowered, Dawn looked down towards the ground, her mind scrambling to find the right words to say. As she raised her head, she was just in time to see the single Bringer walking towards them.

"Um, Buffy…"

"Still waiting."

"Buffy…" Rolling her eyes, Buffy let her hands return to her sides.

"Alright, look, we're standing in the middle of a graveyard, and considering that I'm the Slayer, I kinda want to know why my little sister is out here when she shouldn't be." The Bringer had just begun to raise the knife in his hand when Buffy turned on her heel, her fist connecting with the Demon's face with near perfect accuracy. "Because honestly, having to deal with these guys just makes the entire occasion just seem so much better."

As if on pure will, the rest of the Bringers began to burst out of the shadows, their black attire blending in perfectly with the darkness from which they had just emerged. Most of them were armed with their seemingly trademark knives, but a few now brandished a type of fighting axe that Dawn had seen occasionally around the training room in the Magick Box. She had seen first-hand the kind of damage the weapon could do to a fake training dummy, and she wasn't particularly looking forward to seeing how it would function on a body of flesh and blood.

Most of the Bringers were coming at them from the area behind where she had only moments ago been standing, but one or two of them were closing in from the sides. The one that Buffy had only seconds ago slugged was already on his knees, his body falling to the ground beneath him as consciousness left his body. Turning her attention to the approaching group, Buffy pushed her sister behind her, grabbing the stake out of her pocket.

"I trust that you know how to use one of these?" She asked, raising the wooden object at level with her head.

"I might have learned how." Dawn replied, raising her own as she pressed her back against her sister's.

"We're going to finish this conversation, don't forget that."

"Oh, I'm _so_ looking forward to it."


	4. Present Tense

**I'm so, so, so, so sorry for the long wait in between updates. Had alot going on in my life, plus I was head over feet in another story I was writing . This chapter is a little on the short side, but I hope you don't mind.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the other characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

As she spun her body around into a roundhouse kick as the small group of Bringers rushed towards her, Buffy felt satisfied to see and hear the pain that she had inflicted on each of them within the span of only a few seconds. Despite the numerous amounts of punches and kicks the minions took, they always got back up, the only thought on their mind being their master's command. They sought the end of the Slayer line, and until that goal was accomplished, they would never cease to come.

Which was fine for the Slayer. She had dealt with so many of them by now that it was beginning to become as commonplace as fighting vampires. As the nearest Bringer swung its knife at her stomach, the Slayer jumped, the soles of her shoes connecting hard with the Demon's face. Behind her, she could hear her sister managing to hold her own, the younger Summers child wielding a branch as if it were a sword. Again, the question as to why she was out here ran through Buffy's otherwise-combat focused mind.

No doubt, the conversation they were going to have soon was going to be_ interesting._

"Dawn, how you holding up?" She asked, decking another Bringer as the words left her lips.

"Fine, how 'bout you?" Was the other girl's response, her voice becoming somewhat strained as she swung the branch again at one of the Bringers.

"Oh, you know, same ole', same ole'."

"BUFFY!" As she dispatched the last Bringer within her immediate reach, Buffy turned, finding that the remaining Bringers had disarmed her sister, and were quickly converging on her, their attention no longer on the Slayer. Raising the knife above his head, one of the Bringers began to plunge it down towards Dawn's body, the sound of the blade cutting through the air sounding out above the other sounds of battle.

"Buffy!" As she yelled out her sister's name again, the Potential continued to struggle against the arms holding her down to the ground. As the blade came flying down towards her, she closed her eyes, preparing for the untold amounts of pain that would follow once the blade struck her body.

"Right here." Her hand grabbing the Bringers wrist and promptly snapping it, Buffy pushed the demon back, her attention swiftly changing to the others holding Dawn down. Easily dispatching her opponents, the Slayer reached out and pulled the younger girl onto her feet, both of their attentions alert in case of any reinforcements from the Bringers. Around them, the night air was silent and cold, a product of the season.

"Looks like they decided to back off." Unclenching her fists, Buffy could feel how sore her hand felt, but she knew that the pain would subside soon enough. Perks of being a Slayer. Gradually relaxing her stance, the blonde turned to see how her sister was holding up. Surprisingly enough, she seemed calm for someone who had just almost been on the receiving end of a knife. Mentally running over the battle again and again in her mind, Buffy felt a spark of surprise inside her when she had seen how well Dawn had been able to fight off the Bringers until they had finally overwhelmed her…had they been after….

"Dawn, explain. Now. Make with the explany."

"Um, shouldn't we get somewhere safe first? There might be more of them out there."

"We're fine. Now, start talking." Crossing her arms over her chest, the Slayer glared at her sister with the quality of an upset mother.

"Buffy, do…do you remember the spell Willow cast the one thing, the only that was supposed to show us where the new Potential was?"

"The one that didn't work? Yeah, I remember it. We're still looking for that one. Hopefully Giles will be able to do something about it." Raising her eyebrow, Buffy waited for the other girl to continue, not having caught onto what she was trying to say.

"Well, um…it kinda went after _me."_

"And…?"

"I'm…I'm the Potential you've been looking for." As the words left her lips, Dawn resisted the urge to swallow nervously as she saw her sister's face become awash with emotions.

"You're _what_?" She said, wanting to make sure that she had heard the other girl correctly.

"I'm a Potential. I didn't tell you because I wasn't sure of how you'd react."

"Because me finding out this way is _so_ much better!" Turning for a moment, Buffy let her hands fall back to her sides as she sighed. "God, you have no idea how mad I am right now."

"Buffy…"

"Can you please just tell what gave you the bright idea to hide this from me? I could have been helping you train!"

"Well, you see Kennedy was helping me, and Willow and Xander and Anya were…"

"Did _everyone_ else know about this? Was there some memo that I just didn't get?" Her eyes lighting up with disbelief, the Slayer looked up into the night sky as if the answer could be found there. "Because apparently everyone else was inside the loop."

"Buffy, I didn't tell you because I would have been just more thing for you to worry about!"

"What? You're in charge of how stressed I am now? Anything else you want to throw on me?" Shaking her head slightly in disbelief, Dawn continued to feel anger boiling up inside her as her sister unleashed wave after wave of accusations at her.

"You were barely teaching me anything before this!"

"I was teaching you. I was the teacher-girl." Scrunching her face in confusion, Buffy's voice still had traces of the anger she no-doubt felt inside.

"And then you weren't! You just stopped!" Hearing a branch snap in the distance, the blonde's mind turned back into its Slayer set and her thoughts again turned towards the threat of danger.

"Look, we don't have time for this. We're going home, right now."

* * *

"Upstairs, now!" Buffy yelled, not even caring if the other Potentials were awake. Hearing her younger sister mumble something as she climbed the stairs, the Slayer eyed the few bodies that occupied the living room directly off to her left.

"Go back to sleep." She ordered, mounting the stairs without even waiting to hear the Potentials' response. Ahead of her, the door to Dawn's room slammed shut, but the tell-tale sign of the lock shutting didn't accompany it. Seeing Willow leave her room, the Slayer shot her an angry look. "We're going to have a talk later as well." Without another word, she stormed towards the younger girl's room, the door itself nearly falling off of its hinges as she opened it.

"You want to explain to me why everyone else knew you were a Potential, and I didn't?" The words passed from her mouth through gritted teeth as the Slayer tried desperately to get the anger she felt continuing to boil up inside her under control. "Because I'm sure I'd _love_ to hear the reason."

"I was going to tell you. I just needed more time." Her gaze anywhere but on her sister, Dawn could nevertheless feel Buffy's eyes burning a hole into her face. "Guess the Hellmouth decided otherwise."

"Oh, do_ not_ blame this on anything else. You should have told me the minute I got home that night!"

"And what if I had? Knowing you, you'd probably try to brush it off as a mistake!"

"Don't even try to make this out as my fault. _You_ lied to _me_. _You_ made _everyone _else lie to me!" Steaming, Buffy leaned against the door-way and sighed. "How long have you known? For sure?"

"A few days."

"And you were just training yourself the entire time?"

"No…Ken…Kennedy was helping me." Recognizing the look in her sister's eyes, Dawn could already tell that the Slayer wanted to murder Kennedy. "I made her promise not to tell."

"So what happens now?" The younger girl asked, her hands folded neatly in front of her as she spoke.

"I don't know" Sighing, Buffy's gaze dropped the floor as numerous thoughts flew in and out of her mind. "To be honest, I'm still a little wigged about this."

"I'm still going to train with Kennedy." Looking up, Dawn tried her best to show her sister that she was serious. "I'm not just going to sit around here and wait for those things to come back and look for me."

"No, you're not." Her gaze lifting from the floor, Buffy uncrossed her arms. "You're going to be training with me from now on."

Looking up from her seat on the bed, Dawn found herself at a temporary loss of words.

"Sleep." Turning away, the Slayer was only half-way out the door before she remembered the half open window across the room. "And if I catch you sneaking out again, I'll lock you in the closest."

* * *

"Again." As her sister threw the punch at her once more, Buffy could see the sweat beginning to build up on the younger girl's brow. They had been training for close to an hour or so now, and the Slayer had no plan of letting the other girl off the hook for lying to her. Still, after a night of thinking about it, she realized exactly why the younger girl had lied to her in the first place. The fight against the First was taking up all of her attention and time, and everything and everyone else had been forced to take a back seat.

"Again."

"_Buffy..." _Dawn groaned, her tired muscles begging for her to stop.

"No complaining. Again." Rolling her eyes, the younger girl threw the punch again only to have it blocked.

"Again." Another punch thrown, another punch blocked.

"Again."

"Again."

"Again."

* * *

"Alright, you can stop." Hearing her sister's relieved groan, Buffy suppressed the urge to smile. She could see the sweat that covered the other girl's face, a sign that the training was succeeding in one of the areas it needed to. Dawn needed to work hard, to see that being a Potential wasn't as easy as she might have though, whatever the chance of that was.

"Are we done yet?" Looking up from the towel she had been using on her face, the younger girl's eyes held just the bare bones remnant of hope.

"No, not yet. Take five minutes." Groaning in disappointment, Dawn never the less made her way upstairs, the sound of her feet on each step sounding out throughout the entire basement. As the sound of the footsteps disappeared, Buffy found herself alone in the basement, with nothing to keep her company but the silence.

The thought of Dawn being a Potential somewhat scared her, as ridiculous as the thought of a Slayer being afraid seemed to the rest of the house. After everything that had she had gone through to protect her from Glory and her minions, Buffy was in the same position as she had been before. There was a power out there that wanted her sister dead, and they wouldn't stop until they had accomplished that goal. In many ways, the Hellgod and the First were one in the same. Demons of a higher plane that wanted one thing, and the only person standing between them and that goal was the Slayer.

Sighing, Buffy turned and let herself lean against one of the beams that lay scattered throughout the basement. She felt tired, with the combination of stress, and genuine fear finally beginning to take their toll on her. Things had changed so much in the years she had spent in Sunnydale. Where once the 'job' had seemed so simple and defined, there now was nothing but confusion and doubt. Fighting a Demon was something she could do, and do well. Looking after the future of the Slayer line wasn't. They looked up to her, considered her to be their leader. And in ways, she had always been the so-called 'leader' of their group. Evil had reared its ugly head, and she had been the one to beat it back down.

Part of her longed for a chance to go back to that part of her life, when the worst thing imaginable had been having to patrol instead of studying for an exam the night morning. She had complained at the time, but if she could do everything over, there were so many things she would change. How much more she would appreciate her mother, how much she could change what happened that night of her seventeenth birthday, how many things she could prevent from having occurred, how many people could be saved.

But wishing for something didn't make it come true, and with a shake of her head, the Slayer turned to find Dawn coming back down the stairs, her sister downing a bottle of water that was already half-gone.

"How much longer are we going to be at this?"

"The more you ask, the longer it's going to take." Almost able to sense the disappointment her sister felt, Buffy couldn't help but smile.

"What's so funny?"

"The fact that I'm enjoying this more than I should be." Rolling her eyes, Dawn gulped down the finally few drops of water from the bottle before tossing it onto the floor next to the towel.

"Funny, wish I could say the same thing."

"Dawn, why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Now it was the Slayer's turn to roll her eyes in response to the question. Her gaze finally settling back onto her sister, the blonde crossed her arms across her chest.

"About you being a Potential."

"I told you, you're already stressed enough. You didn't have time for me, even _before_ I became a Potential."

"I suppose that it's my fault then."

"It kinda is." Almost taken by surprise by the other girl's answer, the Slayer felt instant defensive responses flooding into her mind.

"Dawn, that doesn't change what you did. If I hadn't been out on patrol, the Bringers would have killed you. No question."

"I know that. Do you think I was out there looking for them?" The younger girl answered, dropping her hands to her side in an exaggerated gesture. "I was looking for vampires."

"Not much difference form where I'm standing."

"You're not my getting my point! I slayed a vampire by myself!" Her voice beginning to raise in volume, Dawn didn't make any attempt to control the anger continuing to boil inside her.

"Considering that you're talking to someone who's been doing this for years, I'm not very impressed."

"Can we try to stay focused here? This is about me, not you!"

"Alright, sorry, continue."

"I went out, and slayed a vampire myself. Without help, without anything or anyone but myself. Do you realize what that means?"

"You shoved a piece of wood through a Demon's heart and watched him turn to dust?" The response coming out un-restrained with sarcasm, the blonde watched as her sister continued to fume about in front of her.

"Trying to be serious here!"

"So am I. Dawnie, you slayed one vampire. You know what that means? You've got a higher body-count that most of the others here. Doesn't mean you're ready for Slayer powers or anything."

"I never said I was."

"You're acting like it." Turning around in frustration, Dawn headed towards the stairs.

"Dawn, we're not done."

"Yeah, we are." Ignoring any of her sisters' remaining remarks, the younger Summers girl headed up the stairs, expecting Buffy to chase after her. But the older girl remained in the same place, not giving chase and letting her sister walk up into the sunlight.


End file.
